Intersect Project :: Adoption & The Pro-Life Cause

I've been doing quite a bit of guest posting here lately and am trying to make sure I also document them here for my blog subscribers to go check out! Here's a little teaser of my piece for The Intersect Project on Adoption and the Pro-Life Cause. Read below for the teaser or go ahead and CLICK HERE to view the whole article...

----------------------------------------

Our family stands out.

We can’t go to a grocery store without someone stopping and asking us questions about each of our children. For starters, we have identical twin daughters with bright blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Like typical four year olds, they are feisty and sweet with a touch of sass. The amount of commentary we receive on them alone is enough to write a whole other blogpost, but to add to the excitement we also have a son who doesn’t look anything like us at all.

You see, our son joined our family through the blessing of adoption. He is a beautiful, strong black boy. He is smart and kind and loves to laugh loudly at his sisters. Put that combo together in a grocery store and we’re magnets for conversation starters. Some people stare. Some people are kind. But our diverse family draws attention in a homogenous world in which we tend to surround ourselves with people who think, look and act like us.

One day while standing in the checkout line, a well-intended fellow believer approached our family and commended us on the pro-life stance we took by adopting. I smiled and said, “Yes, we are pro-life, but our son’s birth mom is the true hero; she’s the one who should be commended for her pro-life choice. We really are the lucky beneficiaries of her brave love.”

She shifted uncomfortably and replied, “Well she got herself into that mess and I just can’t imagine anyone giving up a child so beautiful. He’s so lucky to have you, but I guess you’re right. At least she didn’t abort him.”

Cringing at the insensitivity of a conversation that I have had more times than I’d like to admit, I graciously tried to excuse myself and left the store heart-broken for the state of the pro-life agenda in our churches.

You see, pro-life is more complex than simply being against abortion and for saving babies. We’ve pigeonholed the conversation in an effort to fight for the right to life. And while we should fight against abortion with all our might, I believe Scripture calls us to so much more. Yes we fight for life, but we fight for all life.

In Scripture, we are called to care for the orphan and the widow (James 1:27). We are also called to “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). But most importantly, we are given the greatest commandment to be our guide: “Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22: 27-29).

So what does this mean in a world where we’ve narrowed the narrative on pro-life stances? How can the church talk about adoption using a holistically pro-life approach?

To read the rest go check out www.intersectproject.org and check out some of their other articles while you're at it!